This invention relates to article conveyors and more particularly to an article conveyor used for staggering articles for the purpose of efficient loading the same onto trays. By staggering the articles, a larger amount of articles can be accommodated by each tray.
Article conveying systems are used for transporting articles of various types from a first position to a second position wherein at the second position, it is likely that another operation is performed with respect to the articles. Articles are generally transported in single file such that when they reach the second position for an operation such as removal or unloading, the articles are arranged in side by side columns and rows. However, this row/column arrangement of articles is generally inefficient with regard to loading the articles for another operation or with regard to packaging the articles. By observing a row/column arrangement of cylindrical articles, it is obvious that a large amount of space is wasted between the articles.
One of the operations that may be desired is the loading of the articles onto individual trays, pallets or the like, for storage in a remote location or for a further manufacturing process with respect to the articles. Loading may be accomplished in a number of ways including pushing, dropping, or sliding, as in the instant invention, the articles to their destination. It is desirable to use space efficiently so that the maximum number of articles can be carried on a tray. Accordingly, during a subsequent manufacturing process such as freeze drying the contents of the articles on the trays, the largest number of articles possible per operation can be freeze dried, etc., thereby saving in expended time, energy and subsequential cost. Therefore, with cylindrically shaped articles, it is desirable to have the articles placed on the trays in a staggered relationship. The prior art does disclose palletizing apparatuses which accumulate articles and arrange them in a staggered relationship but none is for the same purpose of the present invention nor does any employ the structural arrangement hereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,659,726 to Anderson, for example, discloses a palletizing apparatus. The palletizer accumulates layers of cans in patterns of staggered rows. The cans are initially gathered in a single file and are then moved by row into a staggered pattern. The newly arranged cans are then transferred to an adjacent plate and dropped onto a pallet. The method of staggering is different and more complicated than the present invention and is not necessarily applicable to the loading of trays for placement into freeze driers, nor is the transfer to the pallet accomplished via a sliding mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,077 to Langen et al. discloses a carton loading machine. The invention in Langen accumulates cylindrically shaped objects in a row/column relationship. A mechanism is used to displace a row of cylindrically shaped objects adjacent to a non displaced row such that a staggered relationship between the objects is formed. As such, the articles are pushed into a package and upon pushing, they are rearranged into a row/column pattern for filling the space of the carton. Again, the patent to Langen et al. discloses a much more complicated means for staggering the cylindrically shaped articles and, in turn, disrupts the staggered relationship for packaging purposes which is dissimilar to the efficiency purpose of the present invention. Also, Langen uses a pushing and not a sliding mechanism for loading the cartons.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,967 to Culpepper discloses a packaging machine used for loading articles onto trays or carton blanks via a pusher mechanism and the articles are loaded onto the trays in a row/column arrangement and not a staggered arrangement as in the current invention.
Other patents disclose apparatuses which have mechanisms for aligning articles in a staggered relation to each other. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,132,305 to Mastak, the staggered patterns are formed by the use of a somewhat complicated arrangement of conveyors moving in different directions. A main conveyor sends the articles in a primary direction while subsequent conveyors, moving in directions transverse to the primary direction, shift the articles for acquiring the staggered pattern. The apparatus uses a uniformly jagged end plate for maintaining the articles in the staggered position. However, the jagged end plate does not function to cause the staggered arrangement of the articles as do the scalloped and oscillating plates used in the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,419 to Allen et al. similarly discloses the use of a scalloped end plate for assisting in staggering articles to be packaged via a shrink wrap machine. However, as shown in FIG. 1 of that patent, the scalloped end plate is used only for maintaining the articles in a staggered orientation and not for forming the same. The invention in Allen et al. uses a conveyor with an automatically adjusting alignment wall for moving the incoming articles into a proper orientation for forming a staggered pattern. The Allen et al. mechanism is more complex than the instant invention and seemingly could not handle the volume of the instant invention based upon the limited single file capacity of the alignment wall.